Why the Oral Tradition is Essential: Understanding the Link Between the Written Torah and Its Oral Interpretations

Unfortunately, there are people who, despite fully believing that the Bible was indeed handed down by Hashem, think that the Oral Torah did not come from the Almighty. To them, the words of our sages in the Talmud and legal texts are merely the logical products of the book authors. As a result, they are willing to accept the instructions of Hashem written in the Bible but refuse to comply with the "edicts" of the Talmud and Halacha, arrogantly questioning, 'Who are they to dictate my life?!' This perspective is tempting, as the Oral Torah, unlike the Written Torah, delves deeply into the minute details of daily life, exerting a powerful influence on daily living and requiring restraint of desires.

Here are some of the proofs within the Written Torah itself that, alongside the Written Torah, Moses received the Oral Torah, with its detailed explanations. As the sages said (Jerusalem Talmud Peah 2, 4): "Scripture, Mishnah, Talmud, and Agadah, even what a seasoned student will teach in the future, was already told [by Hashem] to Moses at Sinai".

1. The Written Torah is Incomprehensible Without the Oral Torah

It is evident that you cannot write unclear instructions in a law book, and certainly not attach punishments to them. Looking at the Written Torah, we find many commandments and prohibitions that are impossible to understand without their Oral Torah explanations. Moreover, these writings are accompanied by severe punishments, like the death penalty. How could the giver of the Torah have done this? This is one proof that with the Written Torah, Moses received the Oral Torah, which precisely details and explains the commandments and prohibitions.

Here are a few examples:

A. The Written Torah states: "Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day, a sabbath of solemn rest to Hashem; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death". (Exodus 35:2). Based on this verse alone, how could we know what constitutes 'work'? How can one observe this prohibition if it is not clear what is forbidden? And is it fair and rational to impose the severe penalty of death for violating a prohibition without precisely defining what is forbidden? This proves that along with the verse, Moses received an oral explanation from Hashem outlining the specific actions included in the term "work".

The Torah recounts (Numbers 15) the incident where the Israelites found a man gathering wood on Shabbat, meaning collecting scattered twigs into a bundle. They placed him in custody "because it had not been specified what should be done to him". How did they know that this act of gathering was "work" forbidden on Shabbat? They needed to confirm his punishment, not whether his action was indeed considered forbidden work. This proves they had been orally informed about the essence of "work", and all of Israel already knew it, as stated.

B. The Torah writes: "Let no man go out of his place on the seventh day". (Exodus 16:29). What is the meaning of "his place"? How is it defined? Is it precisely the spot where the person was when Shabbat began, the entire room or house, or perhaps the whole city? Who defines this concept of "place"? We are compelled to say that Hashem also gave an appropriate definition for this within the Oral Torah!

C. It is written in the Torah: "And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes". (Deuteronomy 6:8). What exactly are we to bind on the hand? Perhaps the Scripture means to bind a letter from the alphabet on our hands? And what exactly are the "frontlets"? Is it a specific ethnic dish? This word doesn’t appear elsewhere in the Bible, and is not a word in the Holy Tongue. Astonishingly, for thousands of years, Jews from every corner of the world have universally reached the conclusion that the intent is to bind square, black boxes with straps, containing four specific passages copied from the Torah. How did they reach this unanimous conclusion, which has no direct hint in the text?!

D. The commandment of circumcision, which carries a penalty of being cut off, is written in the Torah as: "And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin". (Genesis 17:11). Without the Oral Torah, we wouldn't know how to perform this mitzvah, and certainly, there would be no agreement or unanimity in its observance. For there’s not even a vague hint of which flesh should be circumcised...

E. We are commanded to take a "fruit of a beautiful tree" during Sukkot. Jews gather in the synagogue on Sukkot. Seemingly, each person should bring any citrus fruit he wants: one brings an orange, another a clementine, and yet others, grapefruits, lemons, and so on. But no, there is no difference across communities worldwide, all take an etrog! Why does no one bring a lemon, which bears such resemblance to an etrog???

2. The Written Torah Explicitly Mentions an Oral Tradition

Upon examining the Written Torah, one sees that it informs us in several places about the existence of the Oral Torah. Due to space constraints, we'll mention just one source: "And you shall slaughter from your cattle and your flocks, which Hashem has given you, as I have commanded you". (Deuteronomy 12:21). Take note! The well-known "Jewish slaughter" is written in wholly unclear terms: "and slaughtered". One could slaughter with a knife, by piercing, or in another way. Also, one could slaughter through the back, the neck, or other parts of the animal's body. The verse senses that the commandment isn’t clear at all, thus adding "as I have commanded you". We unroll the Torah scroll from start to finish, and there's not a single verse specifying how to slaughter. So where is "as I have commanded you"? In the Oral Torah! As Rashi writes there: "As I have commanded you. Teaches that the commandment of slaughtering was explained orally, for where did He command it in writing?". (Its source is in Hulin 28).

3. The Written Torah is Without Vowels

The Written Torah is without vowels from time immemorial until this very day. The correct way of reading it is passed down from generation to generation through the Oral Torah. There are numerous potential ways of reading unvoweled verses, and astonishingly, Jews from all corners of the globe, after two thousand years of exile, recite the verses with the same vowels. If it were only the Written Torah that was given, how could they know the correct vowels? Another proof that along with the Written Torah came the Oral Torah.

To illustrate, here is one example among many: In the Book of Exodus (23:19), it is written: "Do not cook a kid in its mother's milk". This verse is the source of the prohibition of meat and milk. On the other hand, in Leviticus (3:17) it reads "You shall eat no fat or blood". From this, we learn the absolute prohibition against eating fat (even without mixing it with meat). Here we have the same word - "milk", vocalized differently. What if we vocalized the verses oppositely, the verse in Exodus with a tzeiri - "Do not cook a kid in its mother's fat", and from this verse learn that it is forbidden to cook meat with fat. And the verse in Leviticus, we'd vocalize with a kamatz, and from this, we'd learn it’s forbidden to eat dairy products altogether?...

4. Seeming Contradictions in the Written Torah

Another indication of the existence of an Oral Torah is: Some verses appear to contradict each other, necessitating an oral explanation to understand their intent. For example, one verse says "For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread", (Exodus 12:15). And another says "For six days you shall eat unleavened bread", (Deuteronomy 16:8). And there are many such examples. It is clear there are no "contradictions" in the Torah, for anyone studying it sees its power and wisdom: the precision in every verse, word, or letter. "There is no extraneous letter in the Torah". How could such a simple thing, which even any contemporary author avoids, exist in the Torah? We must conclude that such apparent contradictions are deliberate! To teach us nuances and details of laws, as the sages frequently interpret the "apparent contradictions" between the verses.

How Do We Prove Hashem's Existence?

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